By Ronron
March 12, 2008
One person died while several others were hurt after a passenger jeepney fell into a shallow ravine in Occidental Mindoro on Wednesday morning, police said.
The accident happened at around 10am at Sitio Burirawa in Barangay San Nicolas, Magsaysay town, said provincial police director Sr. Supt. Audie Arroyo.
Arroyo said in a phone interview that the jeepney (plate number VBE-624), driven by Hermogenes Escalante, was negotiating downwards a steep part of the national highway in said area when it allegedly experienced mechanical problem, causing it to bump on the right side of the road.
PO2 Leopoldo Quiloy of the Magsaysay Police Station told DZMM radio that the jeepney, which was carrying approximately 25 passengers, eventually lost one of its wheels in front, causing it to fall into the ravine beside the road.
Arroyo said passenger Danny Mauricio of Nueva Ecija died on the spot, while an undetermined number of other passengers were injured and brought to Magsaysay Clinic and Zapanta Hospital in San Jose town also in Occidental Mindoro for medical treatment.
Arroyo said Escalante escaped and is now subject of manhunt operations. But a talk by Quiloy with the owner of the jeepney, Juan Gregorio, resulted in an assurance that Escalante will later give himself up to authoritites. Quiloy said Escalante is a relative of Gregorio.
Quiloy said it is probable that overloading was a factor to the accident as he noted that the jeepney can only accommodate up to 20 people, including the driver. Quiloy said aside from the several passengers, the jeepney was also loaded with cargoes.
Arroyo said the jeepney came from Bulalacao in Oriental Mindoro and was heading to Magsaysay proper as its final destination./DMS
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
No comments:
Post a Comment